1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connection structure of a multi-pin connector section located between electronic apparatuses to transmit and receive various signals, direct-current (DC) voltages, and the like, and a signal transmission cable for connecting electronic apparatuses to transmit and receive various signals, DC voltages, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various portable information terminal units have been designed to be compact, lightweight, and multi-functional. Such units also have a function for simultaneously processing a high-frequency signal and a low-frequency signal such as a speech signal or an audio signal. For example, mobile phones typically equipped with camera functions and various information terminal functions as well as calling functions are now positioned as integrated portable terminal devices, rather than mere calling devices, in a market. With the start of terrestrial digital television broadcasting for portable terminals, the mobile phones have been further provided with a tuner function to serve as television broadcast receiving terminal units. For example, mobile phones having an internal high-capacity storage unit such as a hard disk and having a capability of storing a television broadcast program received via a television receiver to allow a user to reproduce and view the stored television broadcast program as desired have also become available.
Referring to FIG. 13, in a mobile phone 100 having a function of a television broadcast receiving terminal, it has been proposed that, instead of an internal communication antenna, an earphone antenna 101 is used as a wideband external antenna to allow improved reception of broadcast waves. The earphone antenna 101 includes, as antenna elements, earphone cords 103R and 103L having earphones 102R and 102L, respectively. The earphone antenna 101 is detachable from an input/output terminal section 104 of the mobile phone 100 via a signal transmission cable (hereinafter referred to as a “transmission cable”) 105. The mobile phone 100 is connected to the earphone antenna 101 via the transmission cable 105, thereby transmitting and receiving a speech signal or an audio signal and receiving a television broadcast wave (radio-frequency (RF) signal).
The mobile phone 100 is connected to the earphone antenna 101 using the transmission cable 105 to transmit and receive a speech signal and an RF signal to and from the earphone antenna 101. In the mobile phone 100, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-64742, the transmission cable 105 may be a dedicated coaxial transmission cable with high transmission characteristics for an RF signal. Such a coaxial transmission cable is relatively expensive and is inconvenient to lay due to the large diameter of coaxial cables. Furthermore, such a coaxial transmission cable does not support other functions.
The mobile phone 100 may have a function for recording a television program in an internal memory. In this case, referring to FIG. 14, the mobile phone 100 also has a function for loading a broadcast program stored in a television receiver 106 into the internal memory. The mobile phone 100 is further capable of outputting a broadcast program stored in the internal memory to the television receiver 106 to allow a user to view the program on a large screen. The mobile phone 100 is connected to the television receiver 106 by connecting the transmission cable 105 connected to the input/output terminal section 104 to an external input/output terminal section 107 in the manner shown in FIG. 14. The mobile phone 100 transmits and receives video and audio signals to and from the television receiver 106 via the transmission cable 105. The mobile phone 100 stores a broadcast program retrieved from the television receiver 106 in the inside of the mobile phone 100 to allow a user to reproduce and view the stored broadcast program as desired.
Referring to FIG. 15, the transmission cable 105 includes a multi-core cable 108, a high-frequency connector section 109 provided at an end of the multi-core cable 108 and detachably attached to the input/output terminal section 104 of the mobile phone 100 or the external input/output terminal section 107 of the television receiver 106, and a plug section 110 provided at the other end of the multi-core cable 108 and detachably attached to the input/output terminal section 104 of the mobile phone 100. The plug section 110 of the transmission cable 105 includes, for example, 10-pin plug terminals 111A to 111J (hereinafter collectively referred to as “plug terminals 111” unless otherwise individually identified). The 10-pin plug terminals 111A to 111J are connected to jack terminals 112A to 112J (hereinafter collectively referred to as “jack terminals 112” unless otherwise individually identified) provided at the input/output terminal section 104 of the mobile phone 100 in association therewith, respectively, to form a multi-pin connector section. The transmission cable 105 has a terminal pattern into which, for example, the plug terminals 111 is formed on a substrate. However, the transmission cable 105 may have an appropriate terminal configuration of pin terminals or the like.
The plug terminals 111 of the transmission cable 105, each of which is provided with a predetermined function, are connected to the associated jack terminals 112 of the mobile phone 100. For example, the plug terminal 111A, which is used for an antenna feeder, is connected to the jack terminal 112A, which is used for an antenna feeder, and the plug terminal 111J, which is used for grounding, is connected to the jack terminal 112J, which is used for grounding, so that an RF signal (high-frequency signal) is transmitted and received between the mobile phone 100 and the earphone antenna 101 via the transmission cable 105. For example, the plug terminal 111C, which is used for stereo/monaural detection, is connected to the jack terminal 112C, which is used for stereo/monaural detection, so that a stereo/monaural detection signal is transmitted and received via the transmission cable 105. For example, the plug terminal 111D, which is used for right-channel (R-channel) audio, and the plug terminal 111E, which is used for left-channel (L-channel) audio, are connected to the jack terminal 112D, which is used for R-channel audio, and the jack terminal 112E, which is used for L-channel audio, respectively, so that an audio signal is transmitted and received via the transmission cable 105.